ESPN

In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Hayley Dowd of Peabody High School as its 2011-12 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Dowd is the first Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Peabody High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Dowd as Massachusetts’s best high school girls soccer player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May, Dowd joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook HS, Mich.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, East Brunswick HS, N.J.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-5 junior forward led the Tanners to a 22-0-2 record and the Division 1 state championship this past season. Dowd scored 41 goals and passed for 19 assists, recording seven goals and three assists in six postseason matches. An All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Dowd is a two-time Northeastern Conference MVP. She has 121 goals and 43 assists through three varsity seasons.

Dowd has maintained an A average in the classroom. A member of the Peabody High Captain’s Council, she has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach.

“Hayley Dowd can score working with her team, she can go 1-on-1 and if she is double-teamed she finds her teammates with passes for easy goals” said Fred Day, Salem High's head coach. “She never stops working off the ball. I would pay to watch her play.”

Dowd has verbally committed to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at Boston College beginning in the fall of 2013.

Dowd joins recent Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Players of the Year Sam Mewis (2010–11, 2009-10, Whitman-Hanson), Danielle Dakin (2008–09, Minnechaug), Hayley Brock (2007-08, Acton-Boxborough), and Amy Caldwell (2006-07, Braintree) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Here are the winners from the other five New England states:

CONNECTICUT: PAULA HAGOPIAN, KINGSWOOD-OXFORD

The 5-foot-4 senior forward scored 13 goals and passed for 10 assists this past season, leading the Wyverns to a 5-7-2 record. Also the 2011 Connecticut Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year and a two-time All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Hagopian led Kingswood Oxford to the 2010 New England Prep School Athletic Council Class B championship. She concluded her prep soccer career with 56 goals and 35 assists.

Hagopian has maintained a 3.73 GPA in the classroom. The first chair clarinet player in the Kingswood Oxford school band, she has volunteered locally as a peer tutor and at an area homeless shelter and food bank.

“Paula is so strong that defenders bounce off her,” said Matt Micros, a club coach with Connecticut FC. “She can hold the ball up well and also spin defenders with ease. What she lacks in technique she more than make up for with power and pace.”

Hagopian will attend Yale University where she will play soccer beginning this fall.

Hagopian joins recent Gatorade Connecticut Girls Soccer Players of the Year Riley Houle (2010–11, Windham), Kate McCarthy, (2009-10, Loomis Chaffee), Jessica Schloth (2008–09, St. Joseph), Alex Uscilla (2007-08, St. Joseph), and Bianca D’Agostino (2006-07, Loomis Chaffee) among the state’s list of former award winners.

RHODE ISLAND: McKENZIE MEEHAN, LA SALLE

The 5-foot-5 senior forward led the Rams to a 20-0-2 record and the Division 1 state championship this past season. Meehan scored 80 goals and passed for 14 assists, including two goals and two assists in a 6-2 win over Smithfield High in the state final. The returning Gatorade Rhode Island Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Meehan is a two-time All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. She recorded 16 hat tricks in 22 games with six four-goal games, four five-goal games and three six-goal games, concluding her prep soccer career with 181 goals and 41 assists.

Meehan has maintained an A average in the classroom. A member of La Salle’s Pegasus Gifted Student Program, she has volunteered locally as a peer Spanish tutor and a youth soccer coach.

“McKenzie Meehan should be on the national team,” said Keith Caldwell, Meehan’s coach with the Scorpions SC club team. “She’s the best goal-scorer I’ve ever seen. She is strong, athletic, tough and she holds the ball well. She’s not flashy. She just scores goals.”

Meehan has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at Boston College beginning this fall.

Meehan joins recent Gatorade Rhode Island Girls Soccer Players of the Year Allison Kelley, (2009-10, 2008-09, La Salle), Katie Reilly (2007-08, St. Mary Academy-Bay View), and Erica Florenz (2006-2007, Scituate) among the state’s list of former award winners.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: MORGAN ANDREWS, MILFORD

The 5-foot-9 junior forward scored 31 goals and passed for six assists this past season, leading the Spartans (11-6-1) to the Division II state quarterfinals. The returning Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Andrews is captain of the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Women’s National Team and is a member of the Under-23 National Team. The 2011 National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Girls Youth Player of the Year for club play and a two-time NSCAA All-American selection, she has 83 goals and 35 assists in three varsity campaigns.

Andrews has maintained a 3.03 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach and mentor, and she founded a local “Kicks for Cans” charity program that involves coaches and players donating their time in exchange for canned goods that are brought to area food banks.

“Morgan Andrews, the kid’s a phenom,” said Jason Dewhurst, the director of coaching for the Stars of Massachusetts club team. “She plays way above her years. She always shows up to play, whether it’s training or games, it doesn’t matter. She’s a fierce competitor and wants to win. She deserves all the accolades she gets.”

Andrews has verbally committed to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at Boston College beginning in the fall of 2013.

Andrews joins recent Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Soccer Players of the Year Kailey Blain (2009-10, 2008-09, Merrimack), Kristy Zurmuhlen (2007-08, Fall Mountain Regional, and Lindsey Miller (2006-07, Bishop Guertin) among the state’s list of former award winners.

MAINE: CAITLIN BUCKSBAUM, FALMOUTH

The 5-foot-5 junior midfielder led the Yachtsmen to a 13-4-1 record and the Class B state championship this past season. Bucksbaum scored 10 goals and passed for 11 assists. In her first year at Falmouth High, Bucksbaum was a Maine Sunday Telegram First Team All-State selection and earned First Team All-Western Maine Conference recognition. As a sophomore in 2010, she started for Ardrey Kell High in Charlotte, N.C., which reached the Class 4A state final.

Bucksbaum has maintained an A average in the classroom. A member of Falmouth High’s Environmental Action Committee, she has volunteered locally as a peer math tutor, a youth soccer coach and with the Ronald McDonald House.

“Caitlin Bucksbaum is a good player. Her appetite to get better is amazing,” said Jason Dewhurst, the director of coaching for the Stars of Massachusetts club team. “She’s quick, athletic, has good feet and can strike a ball from distance.”

Bucksbaum joins recent Gatorade Maine Girls Soccer Players of the Year Allison Walton (2010–11, 2009-10, Brunswick, Elise Amioka (2008–09, Marshwood), Rachele Burns (2007-08, Gorham), and Kelsey Wilson (2006-07, Gorham) among the state’s list of former award winners.

VERMONT: LAUREN BERNARD, COLCHESTER

The 5-foot-3 senior forward/midfielder scored 24 goals and passed for five assists this past season, leading the Lakers (7-6-2) to the Div. I state quarterfinals. The state’s returning Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Bernard is a two-time All-American selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and was chosen as Burlington Free Press Player of the Year. She is a former member of the U.S. Soccer Federation Under-15 Women’s National Team, and a current member of the Under-18 National Team player pool.

Bernard has maintained a 3.93 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally with youth soccer programs and camps.

“She’s very strong technically and her left foot is deadly,” said Dwight Irish, head coach of rival Vergennes High. “If she has a little bit of room and she’s anywhere near the goal, she’s going to change the game.”

Bernard has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at Boston College this fall.

Bernard joins recent Gatorade Vermont Girls Soccer Players of the Year Brittany Pfaff, (2009-10, Rice Memorial), Natalie LeClair (2008–09, 2007-08, Essex), and Emily Milbank (2006-07, Champlain Valley Union) among the state’s list of former award winners.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- After losing in the sectional quarterfinals in 2010 the Peabody Tanners used that loss as motivation for the 2011 season, which they finished as division one state champions.

“We had that early exit last year,” said Tanners head coach Dennis Desroches. “I know that was a driving force for us coming into this year.”

Peabody (22-0-2) was a 1-0 victor over the East Longmeadow Spartans (18-3-1), thanks to Katie Brunelle’s first half strike. But the Tanners had plenty of chances to put the game away in the first half.

Peabody striker Haley Dowd forced a save from East Longmeadow’s goal keeper Anne Stack just over two minutes into the match, from a free kick on the edge of the box.

In the fourth minute, Dowd sent her strike partner Victoria DiGiacomo clean through on goal with a perfectly-weighted through ball. Stack read the play well, and came sprinting off her line to make a tackle, not a save, at the top of her box and stop the danger.

With just 13 minutes to go in the first half, Dowd made a sensational run, going thirty yards past the Spartans defense only to be denied by Stack again.

It was starting to look like in wasn’t going to be the Tanners night.

“East Longmeadow is an excellent defensive team, so when have all those opportunities you have to take advantage of those,” Deroches said of his team’s first half frustration.

But Peabody finally got its deserved breakthrough in the 37th minute, from Brunelle.

Stack hurried a clearance off of the East Longmeadow goal line after a wayward back pass almost snuck through for an own goal. But her clearance only went as far as Brunelle, who took full advantage of the opportunity and scored the game's only goal just before the half.

“With a team like ours, who scores a lot of goals, we always have a lot of opportunities,” Brunelle said of Peabody’s first-half scoring chances. “I knew eventually someone was going to score, I didn’t know it was going to be me, but as long as we score that’s all that matters.”

The Tanners' defense and midfield limited East Longmeadow’s scoring chances in the second half, and held on for the 1-0 victory.

“Fortunately for us, that one goal held up,” Desroches said of Brunelle's strike. “Hats off to East Longmeadow, they really played us to the final whistle.”

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — It was apparent how much attention Peabody’s Hayley Dowd was going to get from the Oliver Ames' defense once the clock started to tick in the Div. 1 state semi-finals last night at Weymouth High.

For the majority of the game, the Tigers battered, bruised and smothered Dowd with a number of defense players and defensive looks to keep her off the scoreboard.

Sometimes great players just find ways to make their presence felt.

Dowd notched the game-tying goal and played a big part in Victoria Digiacomo’s game-winning goal in the first overtime as Peabody (21-0-2) advanced to the state finals with a 2-1 victory over Oliver Ames (17-3-3).

“When I have my chances I try to take it, and I think that’s what we did tonight,” said Dowd. “They are a good, tough team and it was one of the better teams we played this year. They were very physical.”

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on the foot of Kristina Simonson in the 28th minute off a feed from Emily Grotz.

Dowd got her opportunity to finally break free of coverage early in the second half when she potted the game-tying goal in the 44 th minute for the Tanners.

Digiacomo and Dowd worked well up front against the Tigers back line with several scoring opportunities, but a little bit of over anxiousness saw those plays whistled for offside infractions.

In the opening minutes of the first extra session, the combo connected when Dowd sent a shot on goal and somehow it got through the Tigers defense to the waiting foot of Digiacomo to end the game 2:33 into the period.

“I’ve had a copule of those this year where I just see the net and I’m like ‘you aren’t going to score if you don’t get it on net,’” said Dowd. “I figured I’d get the ball on net and see what happens. Victoria made a great run into the net to get there right before the goalie.”

Added Digiacomo: “It squirted through and then it was me and the goalie. I got one step ahead of her and I poked it in. I didn’t even see it go in until she was on the ground.”

There was a game within the game on the pitch last night with Dowd and Tigers’ defender Clarissa Romero. The Tigers’ coaches had Romero stay with Dowd every step of the way, and in some instances bodies were flying all over the field in an intense, physical one-on-one matchup.

“She was outsanding,” Tigers coach Britt Sellmayer said of Romero’s effort. “She’ playing with a fractured nose and to go toe-to-toe with the premier player in Massachusetts, she did a great job.”

Dowd, who was taken to the turf on several occasions on rushes towards the net, said she was happy to play physical and she welcomed the challenge from a tough-minded Tigers’ back line.

“We played physical and we were going back-and-forth,” said Dowd. “I’m not mad at her and she’s not mad at me. That’s the way it is.”

It didn’t take all that long for Peabody girls’ soccer forward Hayley Dowd to capture the Tanners’ record as all-time leading goal scorer. The junior notched her 92nd career goal earlier this month in a 6-0 win over Salem, breaking Justine Hartigan’s career record in a little more than two seasons’ time.

The BC commit still has plenty of games ahead of her and the dynamic striker doesn’t plan on slowing down as the No. 6 Tanners look ahead to a deep postseason run.

We caught up with Dowd after a recent match in Swampscott to talk about her record, a recent trip to England and what the deal with this “Biddy” pride is all about.

Q: Did you know that you were closing on the school record?

A: “I knew I was close, but a couple people called from the local newspapers and they told me when it happened. They called me before I got to record asking about it. It’s great. It’s a great record to have.”

Q: Was it a goal to set the record this year?

A: “It’s a different year. We lost two of our best midfielders from last year and we have a couple of forwards who have taken on a different role. As long as the win the game, I don’t really think about scoring. I’m just happy that we’re coming out on top in a lot of these games.”

Q: How have your teammates helped you along in setting that record?

A: “They’ve been great. Especially in the last couple of years, I haven’t had to run after the ball, they’re able to win the ball and get it to me, which is great. I credit a lot of it to them because I wouldn’t have those goals without them. I think it starts with the defense. A person that’s stuck out in my mind has been Bianca Muscato. She stops everything that comes to her. One girl who used to play on the outside, Katie Brunelle, has stepped in great in the middle. She wins everything that comes her way and she works hard. Also, my other forward, Victoria Digiacomo, working with her has been great this year. We set up each other a lot, it’s been fun.”

Q: With those changes to the lineup, how do you feel the team is coming along?

A: “We had a little bit of rough start earlier in the season and we weren’t playing that well. But we’ve come together as a team more. We’re playing great as a team defensively and then the transition game to the forwards has been really good.”

Q: You played in England with your club team against some of the UK’s best club teams. What was that experience like?

A: “I play for Stars Mass and the league that I play in invited me and [Corey Persson] from Danvers to go and play. I’ve always wanted to go to a foreign country and England was a place that I really wanted to visit, so I really wanted to go there. We got to see a game over there, so that was cool. It’s just great that they’re men’s teams have women’s teams now. We went to Chelsea and they have like 30-plus fields at their facility, it was wicked nice -- unbelievable.”

Q: You made your commitment to BC last year. What went into making that decision?

A: “I thought at first that I wanted to go far away, California or someplace like that, but I started thinking about it and realized I wanted to be closer to home. My family comes to a lot of my games, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, so I thought it would be nice so that they can come and watch me. That made it pretty easy. It’s a half hour away from our house, so it’s far enough to stay away, but it’s close enough to come home. The success they’ve had definitely helps, too. There are three girls now from Massachusetts who play for Stars that are older than me that are there and two girls on my club team who are also going there, so it’s great.”

Q: What are the team goals for the rest of the season?

A: “Well, we wanted to make the tournament and we already qualified, so that’s good. We want to win the league and do well in the tournament. We had a bit of rough tournament last year, so hopefully we’ll get past the second round this year.”

Q: What’s the story behind these “Biddy” t-shirts everybody’s wearing? (Dowd was wearing a “Biddy Soccer” t-shirt at the time)

A: “We’re kind of crazy. That’s what we call ourselves. I don’t know when it started, but a couple years ago, it just kind of stuck. It comes from when people say Peabody, it’s the ‘Biddy’ at the end. So we just kind of cut it down and it becomes ‘Biddy.’ I know it’s crazy.”

Q: That makes sense.

A: “Yeah, kinda.”

ESPN RISE's Chris Ackels checks in today with three New England soccer players about to make their mark overseas.

Peabody's Hayley Dowd, Danvers' Corey Persson and Milford (N.H.) High's Morgan Andrews are part of a ECNL All-Star team representing the United States in a series of matches this week against club teams from Aston Villa, Bristol and Chelsea.

The 17-player roster is comprised of players from Elite Clubs National League organizations from across the country. Andrews, Dowd and Persson all represent the FC Stars of Massachusetts.

Check out Ackels' take here.

ESPN RISE's Chris Ackels previews the Elite Clubs National League championships this weekend in Aurora, Colo., today on RISE's soccer section, and among some of the contenders looking to make a splash are two Massachusetts clubs, FC Stars and Scorpions SC.

The two clubs are the only Bay State teams in the 52-member league, but draw a significant amount of respect on the national level. Each of the top eight teams in the "Challenge A" division will compete in a single-elimination bracket to determine the champion, and there is praise thrown around for some of the locals.

In the U18 division, the No. 2 seed stars face a good first-round matchup in No. 7 seed Kansas City Football Club:

FC Stars of Mass beat fifth-seeded Bethesda SC to claim the US Youth Soccer Region I Championship two weeks ago. During the ECNL regular season FC Stars beat third-seeded Eclipse Select and Flight B leader Carmel United. The Stars this age group’s most tested squad. KCFC is second in scoring, netting 24 goals in nine ECNL matches. KCFC will need major offensive production from scoring-leader Shea Groom to compete with Stars of Mass.

In the U17 division, FC Stars have drawn a No. 3 seed against California power Mustang SC, in what some are predicting to be a high-octane battle:

The two highest scoring teams in the ECNL go head-to-head in this first round matchup. Both squads netted 30 goals this year in ECNL play. For FC Stars of Mass, keep a close eye on Hayley Dowd –- she scored all three goals in a victory over West Coast FC at the PDA Showcase. Briana Gaines is a threat for Mustang, scoring twice in a crucial win over Ohio Elite at the showcase.

In the U16 division, the Scorpions drew a No. 5 seed and will face Atlanta club Concorde Fire:

This will be a fun one to watch. These teams met once before – Concorde Fire beat Scorpions, 3-2, in December. But the Scorpions have talent of their own: they’re the only team to beat Eclipse, doing so at the PDA Showcase, and they won their second straight US Youth Soccer Region I title behind the scoring of Andrea O’Brien. Watch for a close match among two possible title contenders.

Top Drawer Soccer has released its rankings of its top individual prospects, broken down nationally and regionally. Below are the Massachusetts natives cracking the Top 20 Northeast lists, with their national rankings in parentheses where applicable.

2012 BOYS
1. Felix DeBona, Everett (31)
2. Devin Devoy, Bishop Feehan (45)
4. Jack Hilger, Hopkinton (87)
5. Chandler Burnham, Rockport
7. Forest Sisk, Lincoln-Sudbury
10. Andrew Burnham, Rockport
12. Jay Marchand, North Andover
15. Daniel Tchen, Concord-Carlisle
16. Derrick Boateng, Worcester South

2012 GIRLS
2. Mikayla Williams, Stoughton (30)
3. Kayla Shea, Shrewsbury
7. Colby Woeltz, Noble & Greenough
8. Corey Persson, Danvers
12. Becky Litwin, Westborough
13. Mai Mitsuyama, Natick
15. Emily Nasuti, Millbury
19. Hayley Katkowski, Westford

2013 BOYS
1. Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution Academy (3)
3. Dominik Machado, Attleboro (64)
5. Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, Roxbury Latin
6. Aidan Browne, Boston Latin
7. Matt Nyeayea, Worcester South
9. Marc Greenblatt, Winchester
12. Federico Ferre, Waltham
13. Matthew Callahan, Newton North
15. David Hepp, Natick

2013 GIRLS
2. Hayley Dowd, Peabody (6)
3. Lauren Berman, Canton (10)
7. Jillian Clapp, Marshfield
11. Kim Slade, Wachusett
12. Maddie Brosler, Millis
16. Kendall Andrew, Oliver Ames
17. Samm Alves, Sharon
18. Meg James, Sharon
20. Andrea O’Brien, Concord-Carlisle

Buckingham, Browne & Nichols' Stephanie McCaffrey and Whitman-Hanson's Samantha Mewis have both been named this week to ESPN RISE's first team fall All-America squad.

Mewis, a UCLA-bound forward, earned her second straight first team All-American squad after a stellar senior season for the Panthers. She scored 30 goals, giving her 78 for her career, and also added eight assists this season. She won the state's Gatorade Player of the Year award following her junior season in 2009.

McCaffrey, a Boston College-bound forward, was named all-state and all-New England this season, after scoring an ISL record 37 goals and six assists. The Knights went undefeated this season, en route to the ISL title.

Both Mewis and McCaffrey are finalists for the Massachusetts girls soccer Gatorade Player of the Year award, to be named next week.

Two Massachusetts natives were also named to ESPN RISE's third team as forwards. Norwood senior Cory Ryan, a Maryland commit, is a two-time Bay State Conference MVP who tallied 22 goals this season for the Mustangs. She finished her career with 76 goals and 25 assists. Dowd, who committed to Boston College two days before this past Christmas, has so far tallied 80 goals and 24 assists in just 41 high school games.

The seedings for the Boys and Girls 2010 MIAA Soccer Tournament were announced on Thursday afternoon, and with teams getting seeded base solely on their winning percentage, this tournament set up to be one of the most exciting in high school sports.

BOYS' BRACKETS:
D-I North
In 2009, Lexington came in as a No. 2 seed and Lincoln-Sudbury as a No. 5 seed, when they met in the North Sectional finals with Lexington winning 2-1 on penalty kicks.

In 2010, the Minutemen and the Warriors find themselves again ranked second and fifth, and both teams have the ability to win this section. Lexington finished No.1 on ESPNBoston’s final boys' poll and they score as a team with six players having scored four or more goals this season. Jordan Vanderhooft leads that group with eight markers.

Lincoln-Sudbury finished the season 13-2-1(No. 10 on ESPNBoston) and they have Cole DeNormandie up top who can change a game on his own.

Boston City League Champs Madison Park (No. 15 on ESPNBoston) grabbed the top seed in this section with a 14-0-1 regular season record and could pay ninth-seeded Greater Boston League Champs Medford (No. 20 on ESPNBoston) in one of this section’s quarterfinals.

D-I South
New Bedford (No. 3 on ESPNBoston) and Greater New Bedford are the top two seeds in this section, and for the record the New Bedford won the regular season local derby 3-0. The Big Three Conference flexes it’s muscles with Brockton (No. 4 on ESPNBoston) getting the third seed. But the Bay State Conference put three teams in the top 10 seeding in this section with Walpole at No. 5 (No. 13 on ESPNBoston), Weymouth at No. 6 (No. 11 on ESPNBoston) and Wellesley at No. 10.

The most interesting, potential quarterfinal would be if Brockton met Weymouth. The Boxers have scored three or more goals in nine of their 18 games, while the Wildcats have kept 12 clean sheets though 20 matches. Their first choice keeper Scott Greenwood is just a sophomore. Two other sophomores’ in this section to keep an eye on are Needham’s Mac Steeves, who scored 15 goals to improve on the eight he scored as a freshman, and Attleboro’s Dominik Machado, who is a member of the Revolution U-16 Academy.

D-I Central
The Algonquin Tomahawks (No. 7 on ESPNBoston) have been the class of Central Mass all season long and got the No. 1 seed. But No. 2 seed Leominster handed Algonquin one of their two losses on October 26, in a 1-0 game. The only way they could meet in the post season would be in the Central Final.

D-I West
Ludlow (No. 8 on ESPNBoston) has won three Western Sectional Finals in a row and come in as the top seed, but Amherst, the No. 2 seed, may have a say in who represents the West this year. Amherst finished above the Lions in the Smith Division this year even though Ludlow defeated and drew with the Hurricanes in their two regular season meetings. Chris Pereira has 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists.) through 18 games for Ludlow and is the marquee man in this section.

D-II North
The defending champs, Concord-Carlisle (No. 3 on ESPNBoston) come in as a No. 2 seed this year and appear in the tournament for the 26th season in a row. Senior tri-captain Cam McGrory is perhaps the most complete goalkeeper in the state and Ray Pavlik’s team will be well-tested having dropped only three points all season in the Dual County League, which is arguably the toughest in Massachusetts.

But the No. 1 seed in the section goes to the undefeated Winchester Sachems (No.6 on ESPNBoston), who won the Middlesex and have only two draws all season, both to Lexington. Their defense is full of confidence having allowed just one goal in their last six matches. And up top Ryan Connolly and Ben Davis have 27 goals between them.

D-II South
This section features two undefeated teams, No. 1 seed Sandwich (No. 5 on ESPNBoston) and No. 2 seed Canton (No. 9 on ESPNBoston) and they both seem to have an easy road to the finals, but looks can be deceiving.

Sandwich had only two draws all year, and learned an important lesson after squandering a four-goal lead to Marshfield in mid October. The Blue Knights didn’t allow a goal in five of their next seven matches. The Canton Bulldogs finished the season undefeated for the only time in the programs 28 years.

No. 4 seed Bishop Feehan has won nine of it’s last 10 and could potentially play Tri-Valley Champions Medfield (No. 19 on ESPNBoston) in the quarterfinals. The Warriors have a goal difference of plus-30 entering the tournament.

D-III Overview
There could very well be a re-match of the 2009 State Semi-Finals.

In D-III North, keep an eye on Weston, who is just the 11th seed at 7-6-3, but they will be ready for to make another run to the state finals after a tough regular season in the Dual County League, where they registered a 1-0 over Lincoln-Sudbury.

In D-III South, Cardinal Spellman finished the season 18-2 and it will take a major upset to stop them from getting to the state level.

GIRLS' BRACKETS:
D-I North
This bracket is unpredictable to say the least, which make the most exciting.

Top-seeded Peabody (No. 3 on ESPNBoston) handed fifth seeded Acton-Boxborough (No. 5 on ESPNBoston) their first regular season loss since 2006 on opening day. A-B ended up losing two games in 2010 -- their only other loss coming to No. 22 seed Lincoln-Sudbury. The two teams could have a rematch if they each reach the semifinals. Colonials goaltender Jessie Wiggins only allowed four goals in 17 games, but the Tanners strike force of Hayley Dowd and Victoria Digiacomo is a tough one-two punch.

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 seed Masconomet (No. 13 on ESPNBoston) lost just once all year -- to No. 21 seed Andover. They have a scoring trio of Gabby Russo, Hannah Nekoroski, and Amy Griffiths making it tough to focus on just one player. No. 3 seed Central Catholic hasn’t been scored upon in their last seven matches, a nice run to be on heading into the tournament.

D-I South
Whitman-Hanson (No. 1 on ESPNBoston) finished the season undefeated and UCLA-bound Samantha Mewis is the most talented player in the state and also member of the USA Women’s U-20 team. It will be tough for any team in D-1 South to stop the Panthers.

Bishop Feehan lost only one game all season, and it was to an out-of-state opponent. The Shamrocks will most likely play the winner of No. 7 seed Needham (No. 16 on ESPNBoston) versus No. 10 seed Brockton (No. 10 on ESPNBoston), which will be the most interesting matchup of the first round. The Rockets have the second lowest goals against average in Division I at 0.5 and only Whitman-Hanson And Acton-Boxborough are better. Goalkeeper Victoria Tarabelli and senior defender Courtney Steeves will have their work cut out for them against the Boxers forward Morgan Branco.

D-I Central & West
These regions are also wide open. Nashoba and Wachusett look destined to meet each other in one semifinal, while Algonquin and Shrewsbury look ready for the other semi. It will be interesting to see if the Tomahawks can get out of the Central and defend their state title.

In the West, it’s Minnechaug’s title to lose. Lauren MacLellan is a tough forward to contain.

D-II North
Look for Belmont’s playermaker Katie O’Brien to set up Lauren Thurber as the top-seeded Marauders look ready to make a deep tournament run. Danvers is the No. 2 seed and had impressive regular season wins over Peabody and Central Catholic. But they also lost to No. 4 seed Bishop Fenwick, so the D-II North title is there for the taking.

D-II South
East Bridgewater is the top seed with a 16-2-0 regular season record. But don’t overlook No. 5 seed Cardinal Spellman, the defending D-II champions will no doubt be out to defend their title.

D-III Overview
Shawsheen (No. 20 on ESPNBoston) earned the top seed in D-III North and Nantucket earning the top seed in the South with a perfect 18-0-0 record. Bromfield earned the top seed in the Central and Gateway earned the top seed out West. And with defending D-3 Champion Millis not qualifying for the tournament this year, there will be a new D-III state champion crowned.